What is the proper way to light a cigar? Let’s Find Out!

Even though the most preferred and easy way to light a cigar is to use a butane lighter, there are other ways to do it too. Some are easy some are complicated but it is important each kind of fire or flame serves its own purpose and provide a different experience. In my experience there can be no one way be the best way to light a cigar.

Choosing the best way depends on a lot of things such as what you have available, what is your budget in case you are buying something, what kind of flame you want to get and how much time you have in your hands.

For me personally I stick with my butane lighters because they are the easiest, cheapest and most convenient way to light a cigar and enjoy it.

Though I like butane lighters some conventional smokers prefer other methods of lighting a cigar such as matches or cedar strips. It doesn’t matter though which way you decide to light your stogie as long as it is odorless and does not have chemicals that will then transfer onto your stogie while lighting.

Important thing that I should mention, these are bit advanced ways, so if you don’t know how to light a cigar using just normal lighters I will suggest you figure that out first.

Let’s discuss some ways of lighting a cigar that we see a lot of newbie do and how you should not light your cigar.

Using Candles or Sulfur Matches:

If you have never tried lighting a cigar or sulfur match then maybe you should to get a practical example of what you should not do.

The wax from the candles leave a residue when burning which is also present in the flame.

So when you put the flame and cigar together that same residue transfers onto the foot of the cigar and ruin the flavoring. This ofcourse leads to a bad cigar smoke and flavor.

The same happens with sulfur matches, sulfur stays in the flame when light it up for the first second or two before it starts burning on the wood. In those first two seconds that entire sulfur is burning hard and fast to keep the flame going and it transfers onto the cigar during the lighting process ruining the taste and flavor.

Using Zippo or Bic Lighters

I know a lot of you are going in your head screaming ‘what!’ but hear me out.

Zippo lighters as cool as they look they are not meant to light a cigar, they were created for two things and that is tricks and small stuff like cigarettes. This is why you can’t be too sure about the fuel that has been used in it. Sometimes its butane but most of the times it can be any other fuel. If you are not sure of the fuel inside it, it will probably be a good idea to not use it. Any other fuel other then butane which is odorless will comprise your cigar.

Bic lighters might be a personal opinion but in my experience bic flames are not powerful or big enough to light up a cigar.

So what I have seen a lot of people do is push the cigar closer to the flame as much as possible. And if you have read my post on how to light a cigar you will know that you are suppose to keep the stogie near the flame but not in it.

Now that we have discussed some ways to not light the cigar let’s talk about some ways that you can.

Best Way To Light A Cigar

Matches:

I know you are going in your head if matches is one of the best ways to light a cigar why did I bash them so much above. Well the the thing is matches that you shouldn’t use to light a cigar with and matches that you can use to light a cigar with are completely different.

First off all the matches I was talking about were those cheap paper matches or those free bar matchboxes that you thought were ok to use. Sulfur is used in these matches to help them light up quickly when you strike them on the pad.

Matches that you can use are the long wooden specific to cigar matches that are made with phosphorous. These matches are created specifically for the purpose of lighting a cigar and they are longer in size, burn longer and has no smell chemical which can get transferred to your stogie.

Using matches on a day to day basis might not work, but they are great for special parties and events to spice things up with a vintage look.

Torch Lighters

Coming back to my favorite way of lighting, butane torch lighters. If you are even a little bit serious about smoking cigars regularly then going for torch lighters is your best bet and make sure to select the top cigar lighter.

Torch lighters are powerful making them ideal for outdoors and they are controllable so that you can use them indoors.

They have powerful jet targeted flames which in turn make lighting your stogie a much easier process.

Since Butane is the best fuel to use when doing this you can also get a wide variety of lighters online depending on your needs.

If torch lighters are too much for you, then you can also go for the smaller less powerful ones. Regular torch lighters are huge so it is obviously a good idea to get small convenient ones for yourself.

Cedar

According to some traditional cigar smokers, using cedar strips is the only way to correctly light a cigar.

Now I have never tried it but from what I have heard you burn the cedar strip and use the burning flame to light up your cigar.

It contains no chemicals, no fuel, no sulfur and no butane.

It is not only tedious but a bit risky to do indoors, so if you are planning a camping trip in the woods this will be the perfect most manly way to light your cigar.

If you are looking for the most manly way to enjoy a cigar with your buddies using cedar strips might be it but if you are an indoor smoker then choose from matches and lighters for your convenience.